Building community and a house — outside comfort zones

Heather Muraca raised her two children on a hillside property across the road from Adams River in British Columbia. Rooted there for 23 years, she never imagined they would lose their home to a wildfire.

A lightning strike ignited the Lower East Adams Lake wildfire in July 2023. While drinking tea, Muraca watched the fire burn across the river from her home for weeks. She had been assured it wouldn’t reach her home. However, strong winds led it to merge with the Bush Creek East wildfire just metres away from her family’s property about a month later. By the time Muraca knew they would need to evacuate, the family had a half hour to prepare. Besides their pets, “we didn’t have time to grab anything,” said Muraca.

The family’s home was water bombed three times in fire mitigation efforts. Firefighters kicked in the sprinklers before they evacuated for safety. The trailer home flooded and, when Muraca returned, there was still an inch/2.5 centimetres of water covering the floor. Due to flooding and smoke damage, the family’s home had become unlivable.

Heather Muraca’s trailer home, with melted siding and roof damaged by fire mitigation efforts during the Bush Creek East wildfire in 2023. MDS photo/Nikki Hamm Gwala

With insurance delays and a stipulation that she remain on the property, Muraca leased an unheated office trailer to shelter in over the following winter. “It was terrible,” she recalled. “It was so cold in there. The water dish for my dogs was frozen solid and I… slept in my hunting gear and boots.”

Thinking outside the box

Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers began a response to the Bush Creek East wildfire in the nearby communities of Scotch Creek and Celista in spring 2024. With high volunteer numbers and four house builds completed earlier than expected Leadership Volunteers Roman Heuft and Peter Thiessen sought out repair and renovation projects to fill volunteer time in the MDS Shuswap response’s final weeks.

Muraca was referred to MDS by Samaritan’s Purse, an organization responding in the same area. Heuft visited Muraca to determine if volunteers could provide some assistance over a two-week period. With insurance-related restrictions, they needed to come up with a creative, interim housing plan for Muraca and her son. The two determined that volunteers would fix up a rundown, off-grid cabin on the family property. Over that short period, volunteers turned the cabin into safe, modest temporary housing.

The off-grid cabin MDS volunteers winterized for Heather Muraca in 2024. MDS photo/Nikki Hamm Gwala

Hope springs up

Muraca was touched by the work done by volunteers — people who came from across the country whom she had never met before — but didn’t think she’d see them again. To her surprise, Heuft and Thiessen came to visit five months later, and let her know that MDS was committed to building her and her son permanent housing.

Volunteers arrived in April to begin a two-bedroom house build. It was a unique response, with the volunteer camp set up directly on Muraca’s property. The camp included RV accommodations, an outdoor shower, a kitchen trailer and a tented dining hall. Muraca and her son Darian Keuris, 21, were full participants in the MDS community and construction of their new home. The two met, ate meals, joked with, played cards and worked alongside dozens of volunteers over the project’s ten weeks.

Darian Keuris (front left) and Heather Muraca (front, second from left) with an MDS volunteer crew on their house build at Adams Lake, British Columbia, May 2025. MDS photo/Nikki Hamm Gwala

“This is so far out of our comfort zone, like so far, but the experience has just been incredible,” shared Muraca.

“It means a lot. Probably more than I can describe in words” said Keuris, reflecting on their new home and seeing his mom “happy and enjoying herself again.”

Both mother and son had some home-building experience but learned new skills while working alongside the volunteers.

“Not too many people can say they’ve been in every process of building a house so, it’s a great experience,” said Keuris, who learned carpentry, drywalling, poly and insulating skills.

Approximately 38 volunteers served 3,000 hours to build the two-bedroom home. The home dedication followed on June 27, 2025.

Volunteers Randy Kloska (right) and Stan Friesen install siding on Heather Muraca and Darian Keuris’ house in Adams Lake, British Columbia. MDS photo/Nikki Hamm Gwala

“It’s a really special day,” Heuft shared at the dedication. “[Muraca and Keuris have] been here and laboured here every day of this build. Not just at breakfast, lunch and dinner. They were here working shoulder to shoulder with everybody while we were here. That’s a first and a wonderful thing.”

Numerous volunteer gifts were presented to Muraca and Keuris during the dedication, tangible reminders of the friendships forged.

“[The volunteers] remind you that good things happen and there are still good people — not just because of this,” said Muraca, gesturing toward the house. “But because of how they are. All of them are incredible, and examples of what one would think people would be like if they believed in God.”

Nikki Hamm Gwala, MDS Canada Communications